Pakistan police arrest Christian girl after angry neighbors accuse her of burning the Quran

AFP
August 20, 2012

A Christian girl with Down’s Syndrome has been arrested on blasphemy charges in Pakistan, accused of burning pages inscribed with verses from the Koran, police and activists said on Sunday.

France24: Pakistani protesters listen to Maulana Fazl-Ur-Rahman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan political party, during a protest rally in Lahore against proposed changes to blasphemy laws in 2011. Pakistan’s government has been heavily criticised in the West for refusing to reform the anti-blasphemy law, despite the assassinations of a leading politician and a Christian cabinet minister in 2011.

Police arrested Rimsha, who is recognised by a single name, on Thursday after she was reported holding in public burnt pages which had Islamic text and Koranic verses on them, a police official told AFP.

A conviction for blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.

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This article was posted: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 10:32 am

Tags: foreign affairs

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